Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback  |  Audio

---

---

Review

Wow! An amazing story, and so beautifully written. Absolutely captivating, I loved it!

6 stars!

This is one of those books that becomes a fully-immersive reading experience. I easily lost myself in this story, completely sucked in by the beautifully emotive writing, the incredible characters and their heartwrenching yet achingly beautiful story. Spanning 15 years, this is not always an easy read, and I had tears streaming down my face more than once, but wow, what a story. I absolutely loved it, and it’s become an instant favourite.

The book is written entirely from the POV of Erik Fiskare, a college student with a passion for bringing the art of theater to life, and who is studying theater tech at Lancaster University.

“Some seek the light and hold the light in place. Erik Fiskare didn’t like being the center of attention, but he liked situations where he had to keep the attention centered.”

When Erik takes a job working behind the scenes at his College’s theater, he becomes immersed in the world of ballet. He learns the terminology, he appreciates the art, and he loves his part in the production of it all. But more than anything, he is drawn to ballerina Daisy Bianco. They form an easy friendship which very quickly shifts into something so much more, and they effortlessly and unreservedly fall into life-changing and all-consuming love.

“The man I love all right,” Daisy said…
“I love you,” Erik said, laughing. He caught her hand, holding onto the connection a few more precious seconds…
“I love us,” she said, and kissed him.
“Us.”

“She had my heart. I gave her my soul.”

Every moment of Erik and Daisy together is absolutely beautiful. They find an incredible love. A soul-deep, meant-to-be, together forever kind of love, and together with their friends they create a beautiful life full of laughter, happiness, art and joy.

“I’m feeling so much. I don’t even have names for what I feel.”

But it all comes crashing down around them when, in one afternoon of violence, a gunman opens fire in their theater during practice, killing some, injuring others, and leaving each of them forever altered.

It’s horrifying and confronting, especially given the all-too-real subject matter. And watching these characters go through the trauma of the shooting is both incredibly emotional and disturbingly captivating. You know it’s coming, and the build-up is sensational as you wait for it to happen, morbidly desperate to know who will make it out alive, and how the survivors will cope after such an unthinkable event. And OMG, the writing is incredible. It feels so realistic – like you are right there with them through the shooting and the aftermath, and my heart was pounding through it all.

From there, the book follows the characters through the years after such a life-changing incident. I won’t go into details because there are twists and turns, ups and downs, surprises, heartache and a whole lot of healing to be done. Some things I was expecting, some things I wasn’t, but I was surprised at the journey, and I would hate to spoil the experience for another reader, so just dive in without looking for too many details.

“You can bury your pain or avoid it. You can tattoo over it. But you won’t be free of it until you feel it.”

I can’t gush enough about this book. I honestly loved every moment of it. Even those parts that were hard to read, or the moments where the characters broke my heart, or the times when I had to put the book down so that I could sit and have a sob somewhere, I felt it all and I loved the journey. It didn’t always go in the direction that I wanted, but it’s realistic. It felt like real life, with all of the bad decisions, wrong turns and mistakes that real people make, and I think that’s what makes it such a captivating book.

“At some point you just gotta start living the truth of who you are and what you feel.”

And, of course, the writing is stunning. It just flows, drawing you in and allowing you to feel everything. The character dynamics are wonderfully developed, allowing you to feel like a part of these relationships, and I felt such a deep connection with these characters, it’s like you’re there experiencing it with them, and after all that I went through with them, I am so glad there are follow up books to this one because I’m not ready to let go just yet.

This is an amazing experience, and a book that I will cherish and reread for years to come.

6 stars.

 

The Fish Tales